Either a referendum or independence. That is the ultimatum economist Xavier Sala-i-Martín believes should be put to the Spanish state if it is able to prevent the vote the Catalan Government and Parliament are planning for the second half of September. Sala-i-Martín was speaking with Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras yesterday in a dialogue organised by the association Moment Zero and El Punt Avui newspaper at the Born Cultural and Memorial Centre.

“I would see us as having the right, the day after they stopped us from voting, to unilaterally declare independence,” said the Catalan-American Professor, who reminded those present that the legitimacy of the pro-independence movement lies in it having won the 27-S plebiscite elections by a margin of 55% to 45%, without counting those parties that did not opt for either yes or no.